The next flight, which was successful on Sunday, also carried science payloads for the short trip into space, as part of a second round of commercial payloads onboard New Shepard for in-space science and technology demonstrations.

This is designed to characterize payload test environments in support of the NASA Flight Opportunities program and other payload initiatives. The sensor suite collects cabin environmental data (CO2, pressure, acceleration, acoustics) and also tests components for future flights on NASA’s Orion capsule.

Mannequin Skywalker was also riding on board for his second flight.

Mannequin Skywalker is ready for his 2nd mission on board New Shepard. He’s a little sensitive about being called a “dummy”, as he will be conducting astronaut telemetry and science studies – a very important job! pic.twitter.com/h2ncpGWaTi

The flight altitude and flight time for the mission was likely to mirror that of Flight Test 7. During that test, the booster achieved Mach 2.94 on ascent & Mach 3.74 on descent.

However, Blue Origin announced late in the day that the test flight would push the altitude to 350,000 feet for this launch. They came close on the unofficial figure, marking the flight at 347,000 feet. Later an official figure of 351,000 feet was released, making this a record flight altitude for the capsule.

While testing with New Shepard continues, work on Blue Origin’s next vehicle – the New Glenn – is continuing, with more test firings of the BE-4 engine.

With the huge production facility now built at Exploration Park within sight of the Kennedy Space Center’s iconic Vehicle Assembly Building, work is also now taking place on the LC-11 and LC-36 pad facilities.